Many ex-NBA players are giving their honest opinions about the personality of players with which they played during their careers. Those people are often hired as pundits on television and they are giving their views of the game and participants.
Kyle Dodd, the basketball announcer at Arizona State University, was a teammate of one Nigerian player throughout their college days and has only word of praise for African dude. The guy we are talking about is Ike Diogu, an ex-NBA player, whose journey through the NBA is particularly interesting. Let’s dive deep into the story of a now 39-year-old player.
What were the first serious steps in basketball for Diogu?
Taking part in Arizona State University and being a member of a team Sun Devil Hoops from 2003-2005 was the first step for Ike in his basketball career. Ike collected a couple of accolades during his tenure with the club where the most significant is Pac-10 Player of the Year in his junior year.
According to NBA experts, 2005 was a period where Diogu should change the environment and try to compete with the stars from the most popular national basketball league on the planet.
What was the first club for Ike in the NBA?
After averaging more than 21 points per game during the college part of his career, Golden State decided to sign the player on the 2005 Draft Pool.
Warriors aimed to win the league with stars like Jason Richardson, Mikael Pietrus, Will Bynum, and Ike who was another additional force in the paint. However, the Nigerian power forward did not fulfill Don Nelson’s expectations scoring 7 points per game.
Diogu went on to score career-high 27 points on December 23, 2005, overcoming the previous record of 12 points in the 2005/2006 campaign.
Where did Diogu play in season 2006/2007?
Following the first season in the greatest national basketball league in the world, the African mega-star expected better personal and team performances.
The individual number of points scored per fixture improved slightly, from 7.0 to 7.2. The number of played games on the court dropped rapidly for Diogu, as they went from 69 to 17. The roster led by Lebron James, maybe one of the best players in the history of the NBA, ended 8th in the Western Conference finishing the competition in the playoff’s semifinal.
Consequentially, the Warriors coaching staff was not convinced of Ike’s quality and the logical epilogue was his departure from San Francisco.
What happened to Ike in the next campaign?
Sending Diogu to Indiana Pacers in a big exchange that included 8 players on January 17, 2007, was a massive change for the Nigerian guy. Jim O’Brien, Indiana’s coach, had a different approach than previous Ike’s coach Don Nelson as he was looking for players who could slow down the pace of the game.
Throughout the first season in Pacers, Ike Diogu went on to score 5.8 points per game participating in 42 games. African center had a little worse second campaign in Indianapolis averaging 5.6 points per fixture during 30 games. Eventually, his staying in Indiana was not extended.
Where did Diogu continue his career?
Signing for Portland Trail Blazers was a logical move for a guy who received less chance to show his talent in the last season in a Pacers shirt. After having only 17 starts in the most prestigious national basketball league in the world, Ike wanted to find consistency in minutes spent on the court.
Portland’s coach saw enormous potential in the hero of today’s story imagining him in positions 4 and 5 in the Trail Blazers roster. The injury of Channing Frye in September ahead of the 2008/2009 season gave even more hope that Nigerian power forward, or center optionally, could be part of starting line-up.
However, only 3.8 minutes per game were given to Ike before he left the club in search of new challenges.
What occurred to Ike after Trail Blazers’ experience?
Following half a season spent in Oregon, Diogu decided to sign a deal with Sacramento on February 18, 2009. Kenny Natt, Sacramento’s coach, wanted to strengthen his squad by bringing one strong power forward in the middle of the campaign.
Donte Greene, Bobby Jackson, and Andres Noccioni were crucial players in the roster that aimed to go as far as possible before the start of the 2008/2009 season. Diogu ended the California period at the end of the season with 9.2 points per game.
What was the next destination on Diogu’s road to fame?
The road took Ike to another Californian city Los Angeles where he was signed by the Clippers on December 22, 2010. Picking this player as a free agent was a brave move by the coaching staff of a less famous club from City of Angels knowing the failures Ike had in previous teams.
Amazing 18-point and season-high Diogu’s performance came in a fixture against Orlando, but that individual result couldn’t hold ex Portland player down in the Clippers shirt.
What did the Nigerian player decide to do after a bad experience with LA Clippers?
After playing 36 games for the Clippers in the last campaign, the new station in Ike’s path was San Antonio with whom he signed a one-year contract on January 3, 2012. Scoring 5.8 points for a team from Los Angeles was some kind of recommendation for the Spurs in the middle of the 2011/2012 season.
According to experts, Diogu was expected to play the role of another option from the bench in Greg’s Popovich team. The expectations became reality with Ike taking part in only 2 fixtures without any start in the NBA game while representing the team from Texas.
How did Ike’s debut season in Big3 go?
Following many calls to join Fireball, Ice Cube’s project, Ike finally entered the most popular national league in 3×3 basketball. Ex Golden State player was picked by the Bivouac, a team partially owned by rapper Snoop Dog, ahead of the start of the 2022 Big3 season.
Nigerian beast joined the roster which already consisted of Gerald Green as captain and Will Bynum, former Golden State and Washington point guard. Solid rebounding skills and accuracy of shots made the Bivouac coaching staff bring him into the roster.
Bivouac finished the season in 10th place ending the hopes of fans of snatching the trophy.
What were Diogu’s performances in the Nigerian national team?
The weakest Ike’s point in the game is maybe he is undersized for a power forward position because his height is 6 foot 9 inches (2.06 m).
Diogu represented the national Nigerian squad in two Olympic Games: the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. His passion and dedication to representing the national roster were never questioned by the supporters of the biggest African country.
One of the events that will be remembered for a long time by the player himself was the 2017 Afro Cup held in Tunisia and Senegal. Ike Diogu had an amazing tournament, finishing the Afro Cup with 22 points and grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game.
After finishing his NBA career, we can state that Diogu is the type of player in which all coaches see as something precious for the squad. It seemed that the amount of money he earned from representing clubs didn’t change his basic life values.
Ike’s relaxing approach to play gave him the energy to be aware of the valuable experiences he received. That expertise can now be transferred to younger generations who are eager for knowledge.
Advice Nigerian player got in childhood was guiding him through hard challenges in life and gave the necessary clarity in making decisions. I bet you can learn from this example. Or I am wrong?
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